Stapleford Hall. The Wrights.

Stapleford
Hall in the early 20th century. The house was rebuilt in 1788 and demolished
in 1935.

MR. Charles Ichabod Wright, best known as Colonel Wright, of Stapleford
Hall, in this county, and of Watcomb Park, Devonshire, is the head of a family
which has every claim to be numbered amongst the representatives of the great
houses of this county. The Wrights of Mapperley are represented on the male
side by four brothers, of whom the late Colonel of the Robin Hoods is the
eldest. The other brothers, who are well known here, are Mr. Henry Smith
Wright, of Park Hill, in Hampshire; Mr. Frederick Wright, of Lenton Hall,
a place which, generations ago, was occupied by his ancestors; and Mr. George
Howard Wright. The two elder brothers have, to some extent, at any rate,
been identified with local politics ; the two younger have taken a very useful
part in movements for the improvement of the moral and social condition of
the people. In his early life Colonel Wright probably enjoyed advantages
which do not come within the reach of all sons of the wealthy. His father
was not only a ripe scholar but a thoroughly practical man. He combined with
a cultivated intellect and the possession of high scholastic acquirements,
a genuine spirit of business. Such a combination is rare; the scholar may
become an ascetic; the business man may sacrifice his finer faculties on
the shrine of Mammon, or in the idle pursuit of profitless forms of pleasure.
In any reference to Colonel Wright and to his antecedents, one must say something
of his father, because he was a distinguished man who is yet very well remembered,
though the introduction of his name in this part of the article is somewhat
out of chronological order. The late Mr. Ichabod Charles Wright, whose Christian
names the Colonel bears, joined his father in the banking business in the
year 1825, after he had become a fellow of his college. In the year of his
entrance into business he married the daughter of the first Lord Denman,
who afterwards became Lord Chief Justice of England. His after life was spent
most industriously between business and study. He translated the “Inferno,” “Purgatorio,”
and “Paradise” of Dante, which translations were published by
Messrs. Longmans, in 1833, 1836, and 1840. A second edition of these translations
was published in 1845, and their value may be gathered from the verdict of
a critic who, writing in one of the leading journals said: “Lord Denman
may well be proud of his son-in-law, who has converted into his lordship’s
vernacular one of the grandest works of the human imagination, making the
English peasant familiar with the loftiest dreams of genius that ever swept
the eyelids of the Italian poet. These translations may be placed amongst
the worthiest of the kind we possess in our own language.” In 1841
Mr. Wright published “Thoughts on Currency,” and in 1847, “Evils
of the Currency,” subjects on which he was well qualified to write.
In 1865 be published a translation of the Iliad of Homer in blank verse,
which may take its place with the translations of Pope and Lord Derby. Mr.
Wright’s last issue from the Press was in 1857, and consisted of a
selection from the Psalms, in verse, which was written when he was partially
blind. Of this distinguished and respected gentleman, whose remains were
laid in Carrington Churchyard only nine years ago, Colonel Wright is the
eldest son, and it is more than probable that to his early training are now
due, in a measure, those qualities which have made him so popular in this
town, and which leave such a pleasant impression upon those with whom he
comes in contact, whether in the relations of business, or within the hospitable
walls of either of his country residences. The lineage of the Wrights of
Mapperley starts with a Thomas Wright, of Nottingham, who, born in 1724,
had sons, Ichabod, of Mapperley, and John Smith, of Rempstone Hall, who was
High Sheriff of this county in 1815. The third son lived at Upton Hall, near
Newark, and was also in turn High Sheriff of the county. His son was Joseph
Banks Wright, who married into the Dashwood (Stanton Hall) family. Then we
come to Ichabod Wright, grandfather to the four brothers who now represent
the Nottinghamshire branch of the family, who married Miss Harriet Day, of
Yarmouth, by whom he had fourteen children, amongst them nine daughters,
most of whom married into families of distinction, whilst one of his sons
married a daughter of Archbishop Howley, the then Primate, and another a
near relative of Lord Ellenborough’s. One of the daughters, of whom
Colonel Wright and his brothers are nephews, married a son of Lord Boston;
another married Sir John Shaw Lefevre, a man of considerable distinction,
and brother to Lord Eversley; a third married one of Lord Carlisle’s
sons, who became Dean of Lichfield; and a fourth became Lady Overstone, when
her husband, Mr. Samuel Jones Lloyd, was raised to the peerage.

It is somewhat remarkable that this large family comprised three sets of
twins. After this gentleman, came the distinguished man who translated the
wondrous Tale of Troy, and now Colonel Wright perpetuates the favourite forenames
which for generations have been borne by the head of the Wrights of Nottinghamshire.
As the Wrights of Swanwick, in Derbyshire, are another branch of the family,
it would perhaps be well to glance at such parts of their pedigree as affect
the Colonel’s family. We are now enabled to go back two centuries earlier
than the house of Thomas Wright, of Nottingham, and to trace the family to
a John Wright, of Stow-market, in Suffolk, whose will was made in 1557, and
who assumed the alias Camplyon—a rather picturesque patronym,
by the way. His first son was Captain John Wright, who suffered eight years’ imprisonment
in Newark Castle for his attachment to the Parliamentary cause, and it was
very natural that he should never be able to understand why be was incarcerated.
He afterwards acquired property in several parts of Nottinghamshire, and
in a certain part of Suffolk, and at his death he was buried in St. Peter’s
Church, in this town. The second son of this gentleman settled at Bingham,
and was interred in St. Mary’s Church, Nottingham, where there is a
monument to his memory. He left two sons, Samuel and Ichabod, the first named
of whom was born about the year 1697. Ichabod, the second son, born in 1700,
is described as a banker, who owned lands in Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire.
This member of the family, so far as I have been able to make out, was originally
engaged in the Baltic trade, and late in his life, about the year 1760, he
devoted a portion of his wealth to the establishment of Wright’s Bank,
taking his two sons into partnership. This, the first of the family, who
was christened Ichabod, is also buried in the precincts of St. Mary’s
Church. John, the heir of Ichabod, was also a banker in Nottingham; he married
a daughter of John Sherbrooke, of this town, and left issue several children,
one of whom, Samuel, of Gunthorpe, married a daughter of Lord Coventry. His
eldest son, John Wright, banker, of Langar and Lenton Hall, principal proprietor
of the Butterley Works, married a daughter of Mr. Berresford, of Ashbourne,
Derbyshire. His eldest son, also of Lenton Hall, died in Naples, in 1828,
and left a daughter, who became the wife of the Earl of Buckinghamshire.
One of the sons of this John Wright was the late Mr. Frank Wright, of Osmaston
Manor, a magistrate for Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, and Staffordshire, and
High Sheriff of the first-named county in 1842, who married a daughter of
Sir Henry Fitzherbert, of Tissington. From documents in the possession of
Colonel Wright, and from other sources, I have selected such portions of
this pedigree as bore more directly upon the family of bankers.

Colonel Wright is undoubtedly one of the most popular of our local public
men. Yet he is no orator as Brutus was ; his public speeches are delivered
in a hesitating manner, and they convey to the listener the impression, which
is rightly founded, that public demonstrations are not in his line, and that
be would very much prefer to be away from the glare of that fierce light
which beats about the life of a public man. Yet Colonel Wright’s public
career may be described as eminently successful. He got into Parliament twelve
years ago with very little trouble; he simply put himself in nomination at
the eleventh hour, and the people returned him with Nottingham, and to trace
the family to a John Wright, of Stow-market, in Suffolk, whose wlll was made
in 1557, and who assumed the alias Camplyon—a rather picturesque patronym,
by the way. His first son was Captain John Wright, who suffered eight years’ imprisonment
in Newark Castle for his attachment to the Parliamentary cause, and it was
very natural that he should never be able to understand why he was incarcerated.
He afterwards acquired property in several parts of Nottinghamshire, and
in a certain part of Suffolk, and at his death he was buried in St. Peter’s
Church, in this town. The second son of this gentleman settled at Bingham,
and was interred in St. Mary’s Church, Nottingham, where there is a
monument to his memory. He left two sons, Samuel and Iehabod, the first named
of whom was born about the year 1697. Ichabod, the second son, born in 1700,
is described as a banker, who owned lands in Lineolnshire and Nottinghamshire.
This member of the family, so far as I have been able to make out, was originally
engaged in the Baltic trade, and late in his life, about the year 1760, he
devoted a portion of his wealth to the establishment of Wright’s Bank,
taking his two sons into partnership. This, the first of the family, who
was christened Ichabod, is also buried in the precincts of St. Mary’s
Church. John, the heir of Ichabod, was also a banker in Nottingham; he married
a daughter of John Sherbrooke, of this town, and left issue several children,
one of whom, Samuel, of Gun-thorpe, married a daughter of Lord Coventry.
His eldest son, John Wright, banker, of Langar and Lenten Hall, principal
proprietor of the Butterley Works, married a daughter of Mr. Berresford,
of Ashbourne, Derbyshire. His eldest son, also of Lenton Hall, died in Naples,
in 1828, and left a daughter, who became the wife of the Earl of Buekinghamshire.
One of the sons of this John Wright was the late Mr. Frank Wright, of Osmaston
Manor, a magistrate for Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, and Staffordshire, and
High Sheriff of the first-named county in 1842, who married a daughter of
Sir Henry Fitzherbert, of Tissington. From documents in the possession of
Colonel Wright, and from other sources, I have selected such portions of
this pedigree as bore more directly upon the family of bankers.

Colonel Wright is undoubtedly one of the most popular of our local public
men. Yet he is no orator as Brutus was ; his public speeches are delivered
in a hesitating manner, and they convey to the listener the impression, which
is rightly founded, that public demonstrations are not in his line, and that
he would very much prefer to be away from the glare of that fierce light
which beats about the life of a public man. Yet Colonel Wright’s public
career may be described as eminently successful. He got into Parliament twelve
years ago with very little trouble; he simply put himself in nomination at
the eleventh hour, and the people returned him with acclamation. Ill health,
combined perhaps with some little dislike of the stormy atmosphere of political
life, induced Colonel Wright to give up his seat after a few months of senatorial
experience, but he continued to command the Robin Hood Rifles for a long
period after his resignation, and no one questioned the prudence or the policy
of the step he had taken. He was as popular as ever, and at the head of the
famous regiment in whose welfare he took, and still takes, such a thorough
interest, and on the occasion of his rare attendance at public gatherings,
whether political or social, his presence was equally acceptable, and he
bad still that hold upon public estimation which he has always maintained.
Such is the picture, imperfect, perhaps, in some of its lines, but truthful
so far as it goes, of the high-minded English gentleman who divides his time
between Stapleford Hall and Watcomb Park—between Nottinghamshire and
Devonshire.

A river, from which the Valley of the Erewash takes its name, turgid when
there has been much rain, tolerably bright under ordinary conditions, has
been forced to take its course close to the house, which has a low situation.
Running water, whether in the volume of a river, or in the form of a thread-like
brook, always gives picturesqueness to a landscape, and the only regret with
regard to the Erewash at Stapleford is that it contributes this element at
a point which is rather too near the mansion. The grounds have been very
much expanded by the present owner, who has taken in large pieces of what
was open field beyond the boundaries of the grounds, and placed them under
the hands of his gardener. They are now part of the garden, and set with
a very fine collection of shrubs, chiefly of the fir kind. Colonel Wright,
I may mention, is a great admirer and a successful grower of coniferae, and
has discovered that a ball shot straight from a small rifle will remove a
superfluous “leader” from the summits of the tall ones, which
cannot well be reached by ordinary appliances. The other portions of the
garden are planted with flowers, which seem to have been chosen for the brightness
and beauty of their colours. There is a still brighter collection in the
spacious copper-roofed and copper-framed conservatory attached to the house,
and built, I believe, necessarily at great expense, by the late Lady Warren,
who formerly lived here. A broad gravel terrace runs parallel with the house,
and terminates at a small group of Scotch firs, which is immediately approached
by a flight of grass steps. The Stapleford mansion itself does not represent
any distinct type of architecture. It has been in all probability added to
and altered by successive owners. One portion of it dates back many generations,
and presents the solid conventionalism which certain architects of the sixteenth
century observed. The inner walls of this part of the house are almost unnecessarily
substantial, and the mullioned windows, through which light is still admitted
into several of the rooms, furnish still further evidence of the antiquity
of the building. The manor has been successively owned by the Staplefords,
the Tevereys, and at a later period by that celebrated admiral, Sir John
Borlace Warren, who performed many important services, which are fully recorded
in the naval histories of the period, and who represented the borough of
Nottingham in Parliament from 1796 to 1806. During the American War Sir John
occupied the important post of Commander-in-Chief of her Majesty’s
ships on the North American station. At the close of that contest he returned
to his country, and spent most of his time at Stapleford Hall, taking an
active part in the magisterial business of the county. His widow resided
at Stapleford until a comparatively recent date. Lady Warren died, I believe,
in 1839.

There is an old picture in the possession of Colonel Wright, which contains
a representation of the original proportions of Stapleford Hall. It is of
large dimensions, and is evidently the work of an artist of more than average
ability. Much of the canvas is occupied by sombre foliage, which might belong
to any locality, but in one corner appear the conventional proportions of
the old hall, and its identity is fixed more conclusively by the introduction
of the river, and other features peculiar to the village, it is curious to
note how love of, and aptitude in, certain accomplishments permeates certain
families. I have known families, of whom each member is practically musical,
if one may so speak. Several of Colonel Wright’s family are painters.
The Colonel himself, is or was, a not unskilful manipulator of the pencil
and brush, and his two sons spend much of their time at the easel. The elder
of them has reproduced very faithfully two of Niemann’s landscapes,
now hanging in the dining room, which represent that famous and most industrious
artist in his brightest and sunniest mood, and there is more of his work
in the house. There are certain rooms in the house consecrated to painting,
and the younger brother is working at a drawing this morning. Perhaps they
may have inherited this taste from their ancestors, for in one of the principal
rooms there is a large picture of rare merit by their great-grandmother—a
Mrs. Wright, of Mapperley. The subject is one which might have been chosen
by Gainsborough, and in some of its aspects the picture reminds one of that
master. There are others, too, of the family, in bygone generations, who
painted well. That Colonel Wright is fond of good pictures there is abundant
evidence within the walls of his Nottinghamshire residence. In making his
art purchases he does not seem to have been actuated by a mere desire to
possess. After looking at his collection, one is impressed with a notion
that he has bought what most appealed to his taste and sympathies. The more
valuable of his large pictures are exhibited in corners of the house, where
they would hardly be seen by the casual visitor. The brighter specimens adorn
the walls of the drawing room; others, including the two Niemans, have taken
up permanent quarters in the dining room. But the masters are not altogether
excluded from the collection. Frank Hals’ portrait of Vandyck, and
an example of Guido, entitled “The Assumption,” take their place
on the same walls, with modern landscapes, seascapes, and river and mountain
scenes, not the least meritorious of which are contributed by Mr. Wake, who
has more than once been a guest of the genial owner of Stapleford. In the
same company is to be seen the fascinating Duchess of Cleveland as Sir Peter
Lely saw her, when her beauty and vivacity won for her a foremost place in
the Court of the Second Charles, and there are two charming water-colours
from Varley’s facile brush. I believe Colonel Wright’s taste
runs in the direction of water-colours. From his own little room, used for
the purposes of business and study, the graver work of the painter has been
banished, and the walls are covered with pretty water-colours—bits
by Prout, Gastineau, Bernard Evans, and half a dozen others, whose names
stand high amongst the water-colourists. Several of the pictures in the dining
room came from Mapperley Hall, which was built nearly a century ago by Mr.
Ichabod Wright, “before I had any idea of being married,” as
he says in the voluminous journal he left behind him, Here are two small
pictures by Von Blumen, the fine examples of Niemann already mentioned, two,
of five or six, works by this great artist possessed by Colonel Wright ;
a meritorious painting by Thomas Wright, a member of the family, who lived
at Upton, in this county, said to have received finishing touches from the
hand of Wilson ; a Clarkson Stansfield, a Canaletti, and two paintings by
Bussy, representing incidents on the Field of Bosworth, which possesses local
interest. These two pictures formerly formed part of a collection at Wartnaby.
A representation of tree trunks, lichen “—covered and knarled,
bears the sign of Salvator Rosa, and at one end of the room there is a large
picture by Sir William Allen, once president of the Scotch Academy—a
canvas from which we learn something of the generous side of the First Napoleon’s
character, for the Emperor is here distributing money to helpless prisoners.
Upstairs there are several interesting old paintings, which, it is fair to
suppose, have been placed rather out of the way on account of their size;
partly, perhaps, because their subjects are not the most pleasant to look
upon. it is pleasanter to feast one’s eyes upon Niemann’s grand
picture, “London, from Waterloo Bridge,” which hangs, in Colonel
Wright’s name, on the walls of the Castle Museum, at Nottingham, than
to study Le Brun’s canvas showing Hercules, of brawny limb, slaying
the flesh-fed horses of Diomedes, which occupies the greater part of one
of the upstairs corridors at Stapleford.